Summer 2017/Fuller Live!

Houston & Pasadena

OT517

Dearman

OT517: OLD TESTAMENT BOOK STUDY: HOSEA & AMOS (4 Units: 160 hours). J. Andrew Dearman.

DESCRIPTION: The course involves reading Hosea and Amos and studying in more detail chapters and passages in them with the aid of commentaries and interpreters from varied contexts. It considers major themes and motifs that run through each book and their contributions to the broader scriptural revelation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Having successfully completed this course, students will have demonstrated that they (1) have read the book carefully and are familiar with its contents and themes; (2) can interpret passages within it in their own right and in their socio-historical, literary, and canonical contexts; (3) have identified central issues in the critical study of it; (4) can articulate its primary theological and ethical concerns; (5) can use English-based tools for interpreting it; (6) can recognize hermeneutical issues arising from the diverse contexts of contemporary readers; and (7) can interpret it faithfully and creatively in the context of their congregation, of the contemporary world and of their own lives.

COURSE FORMAT: The class meets as a two-week intensive for three-hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion; it also involves 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: 930 pages required.

Amos and Hosea in the NRSV, TNIV, or CEB [30 pages].

Barton, John, The Theology of Amos. Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0521671750, Pub. Price $30.99 [238 pages assigned].

Gowan, Donald E., Amos in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. VII, ed. Leander Keck. Abingdon Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-1426735844, Pub Price $74.99 [93 pages assigned] [available online to FTS students through Hubbard Library].

Lim, Bo H. & Daniel Castelo. Hosea. Eerdmans, 2015. ISBN: 978-0802827005, Pub. Price $25.00 [272 pages assigned].

Yee, Gale A., Hosea in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. VII, ed. Leander Keck. Abingdon Press, 1996. 978-1426735844, Pub. Price $74.99 [101 pages] [available online to FTS students through Hubbard Library].

eReserves:

Carroll, M. Daniel R., “Reading Amos from the Margins: The Impact of Context on Interpretation Since 1990,” Amos—The Prophet & His Oracles (Westminster John Knox 2002), pp. 53-74.

Dille, Sarah J., “Women and Female Imagery,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, (ed Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville; InterVarsity Press, 2012), pp. 847-860.

Dunne, John Anthony, “David's Tent As Temple in Amos 9:11-15: Understanding the Epilogue of Amos and Considering Implications For The Unity of the Book,” Westminster Theological Journal 73 (2011): 363-74.

Ferreiro, Alberto, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture XIV: The Twelve Prophets (Downers Grove, IL; InterVarsity Press, 1998), pp. 93-96 (Amos 4:1-13).

Fretheim, Terence E., “The Prophets and Social Justice: A Conservative Agenda” Word & World 28/2 (2008): 159-168.

Gane, Roy, “Sacrifice and Atonement,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, (ed Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville; InterVarsity Press, 2012), pp. 685-692.

Garcia-Treto, Francisco O., “A Reader-Response Approach to Prophetic Conflict: The Case of Amos 7.10-17,” in The New Literary Criticism and the Hebrew Bible, (ed. J. C. Exum and D. J. A. Clines; JSOTSup 143; Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1993), pp. 114-124.

Moeller, Julie C., “Salvation, Deliverance,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, (ed Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville; InterVarsity Press, 2012), pp. 692-700.

Schüngel-Straumann, Helen, “God as Mother in Hosea 11,” in A Feminist Companion to the Minor Prophets (ed. Athalya Brenner and Carole R. Fontaine; Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), pp. 194-218.

Sherwood, Yvonne, "Of Fruit and Corpses and Wordplay Visions: Picturing Amos 8:1-3," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 92 (2001): 5-27.

Vang, Carsten, “God’s Love According to Hosea and Deuteronomy. A Prophetic Reworking of a Deuteronomic Concept?” Tyndale Bulletin 62/2 (2011): 173-94.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. A 2,000-word study of a text from Hosea of about ten to thirty verses, chosen with the agreement of the professor (30%). [This assignment relates to learning outcomes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.] [25 hours].

2. 930 pages of assigned readings in the Old Testament and secondary literature (Pass-fail) [This assignment relates to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 4.] [65 hours].

3. Class presentation (30 minutes) on an assigned text, done in partnership with a fellow student (30%). [This assignment relates to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 4] [15 hours, 10 are DLAs].

4. Class participation and discussion, including responses to student presentations (10%) [This assignment relates to learning outcomes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.] [30 hours].

5. A 2000-word study of a text from Amos of about ten to thirty verses, chosen with the agreement of the professor (30%). [This assignment relates to learning outcomes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.] [25 hours].

PREREQUISITES: BI500 or NE502; OT500 or OT501 or OT502.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Counts as a biblical elective for the 120 MDiv, 80 MAT, and 80 MATM Programs (Fall 2015). Meets the OTBK requirement for the MAT Program (Winter 2010).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.